question for the pepper/hot sauce enthusiasts

[timos]

Ok, this love affair has gone on long enough. I am sick of having to go and order some fried chicken from this local place just to score an XXtra heavy side of the jamaican jerk hot sauce they have.

I had never tried this stuff before a year ago or so and now i am hooked. I am going to have to make this my next "thing" to figure out. I have looked at a few recipes and everything looks pretty well as expected.

Except for the heat element. This hot sauce does something to me no other hot sauce does...I know it sounds funny but maybe someone can relate....Its not a burn in my mouth/throat kind of hot, its totally cerebral...it makes my head sweat, but the finish is tangy and fruity....What in the world kind of peppers do they use?

[keithmarder]

Jamaican Jerk gets its heat from Scotch Bonnet peppers. It also has some all spice, cinnamon and nutmeg, which is where you may get some of the finish.

[jbart65]

Scotch bonnets are very similar to habaneros and they are sometimes sold interchangeably. They are quite fruity once you get past the heat. I take out the seeds and membranes of some to get the flavor, leaving in the membranes of others for extra heat.

Jerk sauces can have lots of interesting ingredients, though. Allspice and scallions are essential. Pureed carrot is not uncommon. Even mango. The color of the sauce is a bit of a giveway. Darker ones will be more traditionally flavored, less so the light or multicolored ones.

[STPepper9]

Try some Walkerswood ( particularly the jerk seasoning and jerk marinade that they make), it shouldn't be too hard to find. But if it is, let me know and I can probably send you some.

[Robstreperous]

Really good jerk chicken picks up a specific sweetish / tangyish flavor that I find marries especially well with the intense focused heat from the bonnet peppers.

The only times I've been able to make it and duplicate it I needed to use green pimento wood / leaves --- which can be challenging to find but I have some Jamaican friends who could get them once in a while. [Yes. I'm talking about pimento leaves not what you guys are probably thinking about ]

I'm only bringing this up Tim in case you want to try your hand at making some of that chicken on your own. Or .... making the sauce by smoking some of the peppers and othe ingredeints used in it to give it that "tang".

[jbart65]

There is a company online that sells Jamaican pimento wood and leaves. I bought some wood a few years back. Pricy but nice. Applewood is the best substitute I've found.

https://pimentowood.com/shop/

[Robstreperous]

Cool. Thanks. Pretty sure I know the answer here but any chance the wood wasn't dried yet?

[timos]

Thzanks for the ideas ! I will grow me some scotch bonnets in the garden this year. Any other specific varieties I should try? I will also look into this pimento leaves. I got a charcoal weber specifically to roast some peppers , so the leaves would work pretty good with that I think. The sauce I have been buying has what looks like pieces of rosemary in there....but maybe it is thyme since I see that in many of the recipes. The pieces are broken down a bit but definitely some kind of herb.

[Carter]

Thzanks for the ideas ! I will grow me some scotch bonnets in the garden this year. Any other specific varieties I should try? I will also look into this pimento leaves. I got a charcoal weber specifically to roast some peppers , so the leaves would work pretty good with that I think. The sauce I have been buying has what looks like pieces of rosemary in there....but maybe it is thyme since I see that in many of the recipes. The pieces are broken down a bit but definitely some kind of herb.

I'm doing scotch bonnets this year as my hot pepper...did ghost last year, but have done bonnets in the past and enjoy more than ghost. I will also re-plant cayenne, serrano, poblano, and 1-2 other varieties that are undecided. I produce way more than I can use fresh, so I dry and grind lots of peppers.

[timos]

Cool stuff! I am looking at sustainable seed co. in chico, CA as a source for my stuff this year. Anyone have experience with this company? A couple years ago we decided to turn part of our front lawn into a vegetable garden...It has turned out well so this year we are gonna double the size....grass is so over rated

[Bensbites]

Tim, I love that idea! Please post photos.

[Robstreperous]

Cool stuff! I am looking at sustainable seed co. in chico, CA as a source for my stuff this year. Anyone have experience with this company? A couple years ago we decided to turn part of our front lawn into a vegetable garden...It has turned out well so this year we are gonna double the size....grass is so over rated

Good for you man. One of my neighbors moved up from VA last year and put in what I see as a medium sized tasteful box garden (garden bordered by railroad ties). Had corn, melons, peppers... I thought it was great. This being north shore nassau county and all though you should have heard the comments. Would have thought he'd put in a toxic waste site.

I say more power to him and to you. Hate my lawn. All it does is lie there and suck money out of my wallet.

At least my spring bulbs are about to come up though!

[gladius]

I am looking at sustainable seed co. in chico, CA as a source for my stuff this year. Anyone have experience with this company?

---
What is the name of the company?

[timos]

https://sustainableseedco.com/

[gladius]

Haven't used them but I will too.

[Bensbites]

https://sustainableseedco.com/

Do you start your seeds indoors? I have thought about it, but at this point that would eat into basement workshop space and other bandwidth I don’t have.

[gladius]

I rarely do, I live in Southern California so direct sow year round. After Thanksgiving I sowed cover crop that is waist high that I need to turn...maybe this weekend.

[timos]

MY uncle was clearing out his barn and gave me a rolling rack he built ages ago...it has two levels and fluorescent ballast on the ceiling of each one. It neatly fits on my front porch and will be a great place to start my seedlings and a quick walk right out the front door to the garden. I have had much better results transplanting to the garden rather than starting seed directly in the garden, plus its also great to get the seeds started a little early and a great project for the kids.

[Ut_ron]

https://sustainableseedco.com/

Overall pretty positive comments on them. But personally have not used them.

https://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/7163/0/#b

[timos]

got the bug out bad seed collection .. now to get some nice scotch bonnets